(a) Except as provided in subsections (c) and (d), a contractor must retain a record in the form in which it was created as follows:
  (1) a record developed and maintained in accordance with §49.305 of this subchapter (relating to Records) until the latest of the following:
    (A) seven years after the contractor submits a claim for the service about which the record relates;
    (B) seven years after all issues that arise from any litigation, claim, negotiation, audit, open records request, administrative review, or other action involving the record are resolved; or
    (C) the individual about whom the record relates becomes 21 years of age.
  (2) its contract and any contract solicitation documents until the later of the following:
    (A) seven years after the contract expires or is terminated; or
    (B) seven years after all issues that arise from any litigation, claim, negotiation, audit, open records request, administrative review, or other action involving the contract are resolved.
(b) If a contractor destroys records containing confidential information, the records must be destroyed in a manner that makes the confidential information unusable, as follows:
  (1) for paper, film, and other hard copy records, shredding, pulping, or burning; and
  (2) for electronic records, disintegration, degaussing, digital shredding, or using specialized software to copy over the data.
(c) If applicable law, the contract, or rules governing services provided under the contract require a contractor to retain records for a longer period than described in subsection (a) of this section, the contractor must retain the records for the longer period.
(d) A contractor is not required to comply with subsection (a) of this section for a record not required by applicable law, rule, or the contract to be in the contractor's possession on September 1, 2018.

Source Note: The provisions of this §52.113 adopted to be effective September 1, 2014, 39 TexReg 6637; amended to be effective September 1, 2018, 43 TexReg 5230; transferred effective April 29, 2024, as published in the March 29, 2024, issue of the Texas Register, 49 TexReg 2091